Hugh Hefner is taking his Playboy bunny empire private, with the mag's publisher agreeing to a buyout offer by the founder of the nude empire. Wouldn't you know something like this would happen just as the Year of the Hare rounds the corner? (That'd be Chinese New Year on Feb. 3, for the zodiac-impaired.)

Board members of Playboy Enterprises Inc. recommended a deal to stockholders of $6.15 a share, an 18 percent premium over Friday's closing price, BusinessWeek reports. That's 65 cents more than Hef's July offer of $5.50 a share and is valued at about $207 million, which is a lot for a failing media empire. It's also slightly less than an offer made by a group led by rival Penthouse, which offered $210 million.

"I believe this agreement will give us the resources and flexibility to return Playboy to its unique position and to further expand our business around the world," Hefner said. CEO Scott Flanders is expected to remain in his job after the deal closes, likely by the end of the first quarter. He's the one who was brought on last May because the company was floundering. Let's hope he's heard of the Internet.

[Photo: Hef with 2010 Playmate of the Year Hope Dworaczyk, right, and 24-year-old fiancee Crystal Harris. It's been a good few months for him. Getty Images]

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Here's the latest celebrity gossip and news about actors on drugs, pop stars having babies, Hollywood stars getting married and celebrity deaths. Compiled by Lydia Harvey and the folks at tbt*, Tampa Bay's free daily newspaper, it pokes fun at celebrity gossip and those who worship it. And don't forget the amazing YouTube clips that find their way into the Juice.